Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma. CDN Digital photo | Wenilyn Sabalo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma has advised those who wish to run in the Barangay and SK Elections 2023 to go and serve with sincerity.
“Participating in all of this exercise to be elected members of the community, whether barangay level, municipal level, or national level — all of these are ways of serving the community. That’s why for people who have the sincere desire to serve, I would encourage ‘Go on! Tell the world you want to serve.’ And be truly sincere once elected,” he said.
He also advised the voters to be truly sincere about the election without thinking about the money that a running candidate might give.
“We will discern and select those we think can give really honest, sincere, and effective service to the community,” he added.
The Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) were initially scheduled for December 5, 2022, but it has been postponed multiple times for various reasons.
According to the updated official calendar of activities released by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) through Resolution No. 10902, Election Day is moved to October 30, 2023.
Per the schedule, the election period will also be in effect with the start of the filing of the Certificate of Candidacy set from August 28 to September 2.
Campaigning will not be allowed from September 3 to October 18. And the campaign period is scheduled for October 19-28 only.
Some politicians including Senator Chiz Escudero suggested moving the elections to 2024 to give the national government enough time to prepare for the next barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.
Escudero said, in an advisory, that there was also a need to already desynchronize the barangay and SK elections with the local and national elections. /rcg
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